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Closing above ground pool questions

Im going to close my pool sometime soon when the weather goes totally sour on me. Now I am able to run the heater and get some more swimming days out of this season. But I am a bit confused about a few things on closing the pool. I should preface this with my location since I think that here some people choose to not close their pool but keep it running all winter. I am not planning on doing that myself but it does speak to the mildness of this area in the winter that some would not close their pool. Anyway I am in the Raleigh, NC area and if there are any of my neighbors here I sure would like to hear what you recommend regarding closing you pool.

First of all I see people mention that they are bringing their pool to shock level before closing and I wonder if that is required. If your water is not exhibiting any problem is it still ncessary to shock the pool? My local pool supply suggest that all I need to do is balance the water and then add some of what she referred to as time release chlorine product and time release fungiside product. What do you think?

I also have a ta of around 50and am wondering if I should do anything to bring that up prior to closing. I have been somewhat struggling to get my Ph up above 7.2 and wonder if the low TA has anything to do with the Ph being on the low side?

I am thinking about just pluging up the skimmer with a plate like this one( http://simpooltec.com/skimmer-plug.html ) and the return with a plug and not draining the water down. We have little problems with freezing although it does get to freezing temps here it rarely stays there so that the water freezes over. Anyone see a problem with this for this area?

I am also thinking of using a system similar to one that I ssaw on the web somewhere that keeps the winter cover supported with a large ball in the middle and rope supports radiating out from it all the way around the pool so that the water drains off the cover as well as the debris can fall off or be blown off.Here is a system that I plan to duplicate: http://www.parpool-spa.com/Page/Winteri ... ystem.html Anyone use a similar system?

Re: Closing above ground pool questions

I can help you out with the ph balance issue. It is important for the water to be balanced. You will need to have a test kit in order to find out all the chemical properties. With those numbers you will then be able to determine if the water is balanced or if you need to add chemicals.

If the water contains cya, then you will need to find out how much is in the water. Cya will interfere with Total TA readings. From the Taylor book, you want to divide the total cya results by 3; then subtract that number from your total TA reading. This will be the correct amount of Ta in the water.

When you add the correct amount of Ta for your pool, the ph will rise. Ta should be between 80-150ppm; Calcium 150-400ppm, Cya 30-50. Their is a link on this site for you to plug in your readings to see if you water is acidic or scaling. I hope this helps you out.

I believe shocking a pool before closing would be a good idea. Make sure you don't shock the water with any solve dissolving chlorine, or too high of an amount. It could cause bleaching of the vinyl.

Re: Closing above ground pool questions

Fishcrazy, read through the closing topic in Pool School. That will give you a good reference to start with.

Do you have a good test kit? If so you should post a full set of test numbers.

If you have a swcg a TA of 50 is perfectly acceptable but if you manually chlorinate it could stand to be in the 70 - 90 range.

Bringing the pool to shock level is recommended but not totally necessary if you close late and open early. I recommend bringing it to shock level and not adding any algaecide.

The skimmer plug looks like a good idea if it fits your skimmer face.
The float and rope system is something like I use and it works well. I still have a little water pool that I have to siphon off but then mine's homemade.